Bats

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what bridges for bats over roads have been constructed, and at what cost, in each of the past five years; and which bat bridges have been approved by the Highways Agency or have been proposed by Natural England.

Earl Attlee: The illustrative costs and other information for the construction of bat bridges on the Strategic Road Network for the past five years have been included in the table below. The table includes information on mitigation constructed, the number of bat bridges, the respective cost and the year of construction.
	
		
			 Scheme No Total Cost Year of Construction 
			 A38 Dobwalls Bypass 2 £300,000 2008 
			 A69 Haydon Bypass 1 £60,000 2008 
			 A595 Parton to Lillyhall Improvement 1 £34,000 2008 
		
	
	The Highways Agency is responsible for ensuring it meets its legal obligations towards protected species. All bat species and their roosts have full legal protection and any impact on bat populations needs to be taken into consideration when work on roads is undertaken. It is a criminal offence to injure or kill a bat, or significantly disturb them.
	The Highways Agency endeavours to avoid or reduce the impact on such species through effective scheme design. Where additional mitigation measures are required, as was the case for these schemes, the agency identified and sought to agree appropriate solutions that were directly proportionate to the importance and the scale of the potential impacts. Natural England, as the Government's Nature Conservation advisers and European Protected Species licensing authority were consulted on all of these proposals.
	There is no central list of information relating to bat mitigation on local authority roads, as decisions for provision of bat bridges over local roads is a matter for each local highway authority.

Benefits

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many families are in receipt of long-term benefits; and what percentage of children from those families enter higher education.

Lord Freud: The following table provides information on how many families are in receipt of long-term benefits. We have taken long-term benefits to be income based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance and income support.
	
		
			 Benefit Units in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance (Income-Based) for 12 months or more 
			Thousand 
			 Years Couples/Singles with children Couples/Singles without children All Benefit Units 
			 1-2 Years 100,000 200,000 300,000 
			 2-3 Years - 100,000 100,000 
			 3-4 Years - - - 
			 4-5 Years - - - 
			 5 Years or more - 100,000 100,000 
			 All 100,000 400,000 500,000 
			 Sample size (=100%) 120 329 449 
		
	
	Source: Family Resources Survey 2010-11
	
		
			 Benefit Units in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (Income-Related) for 12 months or more 
			Thousand 
			 Years Couples/Singles with children Couples/Singles without children All Benefit Units 
			 1-2 Years - - 100,000 
			 2-3 Years - - - 
			 3-4 Years
			 4-5 Years 0   
			 5 Years or more
			 All  100,000 100,000 
			 Sample size (=100%) 32 49 81 
		
	
	Source: Family Resources Survey 2010-11
	
		
			 Benefit Units in receipt of Income Support for 12 months or more 
			Thousand 
			 Years Couples/Singles with children Couples/Singles without children All Benefit Units 
			 1-2 Years 100,000 100,000 100,000 
			 2-3 Years 100,000 - 100,000 
			 3-4 Years 100,000 - 100,000 
			 4-5 Years 100,000 - 100,000 
			 5 Years or more 300,000 400,000 700,000 
			 All 600,000 600,000 1,200,000 
			 Sample size (=100%) 676 585 1,261 
		
	
	Source: Family Resources Survey 2010-11
	The information is not available for the second part of the question.
	Notes:
	1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	2. '-' negligible (less than 0.5% or 50,000)
	3. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors that control for tenure type, Council Tax Band and a number of demographic variables.
	4. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-sampling bias.
	5. Relative to administrative records, the FRS is known to under-report benefit receipt. Please see the FRS publication Methodology chapter found at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/frs/2010_11/chapter9.pdf for more details. However, the FRS is considered to be the best source for looking at benefit and tax credit receipt by characteristics not captured on administrative sources, and for looking at total benefit receipt on a benefit unit or household basis. It is often inappropriate to look at benefit receipt on an individual basis because means-tested benefits are paid on behalf of the benefit unit.
	6. Respondents who answered 'don't know' or refused to answer the length of receipt questions were excluded from this analysis.
	7. Pensioner benefit nits were excluded from this analysis

Benefits

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take measures to ensure that services or benefits are not denied to applicants if they refuse to answer questions about their private lives, especially if they relate to their sexual orientation, religious or political stance; and whether they will consider the need for such questions.

Lord Freud: The Equality Act 2010, and the public sector equality duty requires public bodies to be able to demonstrate how they have paid due regard to equality issues in the development and delivery of their services. One way in which the department can do this is by monitoring our services and asking customers and claimants to give us information about their equality characteristics. Providing any such information would be on a purely voluntary basis, and in line with the Data Protection Act no sanctions or withdrawal of services would be applied to those people who preferred not to say what, for example, their religion or sexual orientation was. The legislation does not cover the issue of political preference, but this information would not be needed or sought for the purpose of accessing DWP services.

Burma

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Secretary-General of the United Nations in response to the escalating conflict in Kachin State in Burma.

Baroness Warsi: I refer the noble Baroness to the Answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), on 21 January (Official Report, col. 93W).

Burma

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with other member states of the European Union, the Government of the United States and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, to co-ordinate an international response to the conflict in Kachin State in Burma.

Baroness Warsi: I refer the noble Baroness to the Answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), on 21 January (Official Report, col. 92W).

Cyprus

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of potential revenues resulting from the exploitation of oil or gas reserves in the United Kingdom territorial waters off the coast of Cyprus.

Baroness Warsi: The Government have not made any assessment of potential revenues resulting from the exploitation of gas or oil reserves in the territorial waters of the Cyprus sovereign base areas.
	The declaration made by the Government in 1960 makes clear the UK's intention not to develop the sovereign base areas for any other than military purposes.

Diego Garcia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will inform Parliament once dates are agreed for the United Kingdom-United States talks on renewing the agreement over the defence facilities on Diego Garcia.

Baroness Warsi: Discussions with the US over their use of Diego Garcia after 2016 have not yet begun. But I will ensure that Parliament is appropriately informed of developments.

Education: English Baccalaureate

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will ensure that the English Baccalaureate certificate will be of value both for pupils who will go on to study academic subjects and for pupils who, between the ages of 16 and 18, will be concentrating on vocational training.

Lord Nash: The Government are considering the responses received during the Reforming Key Stage 4 Qualifications consultation, which closed in December. We will report the results of the consultation shortly.
	The new qualifications will provide students with evidence of their achievement in relation to an educationally worthwhile programme of study, which matches that of our highest performing international competitors. They will provide pupils with a solid foundation from which to progress both to academic study and to vocational training between the ages of 16 and 18.

Education: English Baccalaureate

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government how, in the process of encouraging more pupils to embark on the English Baccalaureate certificate, they will prevent grade inflation.

Lord Nash: We expect the same proportion of pupils to sit English Baccalaureate certificates (EBCs) as currently sit GCSEs. Maintaining standards in qualifications is a matter for Ofqual, the independent regulator for qualifications in England. It will be for Ofqual to ensure that any improvement in results, both leading up to and following the introduction of the new qualifications, reflects real improvements in performance.

Education: English Baccalaureate

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government for which English Baccalaureate certificate subjects they envisage a role for modes of assessment other than a final written examination; and what weight they consider should be given to such alternative modes.

Lord Nash: The Government set out their proposals for the characteristics of assessment, including a preference for externally marked examinations, in the key stage 4 qualification reform consultation. We are now reviewing the evidence gathered during the consultation period, and we will make an announcement about how we intend to proceed once we have considered that evidence in full.

Education: English Baccalaureate

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria will be used to decide which examining board will be made responsible for each English Baccalaureate certificate subject; and what plans they have to offset the possible disadvantages of having a single examining board for each English Baccalaureate certificate subject.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education is considering the evidence gathered through our public consultation, including in relation to the characteristics any new qualifications would need to have in order to be internationally competitive. We will publish our response shortly.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of Clause 61 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill on monies recovered by the Department for Work and Pensions' Compensation Recovery Unit following a successful personal injury legal claim.

Lord Freud: Clause 61 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill amends Section 47 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, so that in future, unless the legislation provides for an exception, it will only be possible to bring a claim for compensation in respect of a breach of health and safety legislation where it can be proved the employer has been negligent..
	This is fairer, ensuring employers will have the opportunity to defend themselves on the basis of having taken all reasonable precautions.
	It is recognised that a very small number of employees may not be able to claim compensation from their employer in future under the new arrangements.
	Because the number of cases affected is anticipated to be small and many claims are low in value, the impact of the amount of benefits that can be recovered is also expected to be limited. However, it is not possible to disaggregate the amount because the benefits paid that would be subject to recovery upon a compensation payment being made will depend upon the individual circumstances of the injured person.

Government Departments: ICT

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hill of Oareford on 4 December 2012 (WA 136-7), what was the cause of the failure of the Department for Education's information technology (IT) system for handling Parliamentary Questions; what progress has been made for procuring a new IT system; what estimate they have made of the cost of procuring a new IT system; how many companies have submitted tenders; and whether they have established a lessons learned committee about the cause of the IT failure.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education's PQ handling system was introduced in February 2010. Its design was overspecified and the system did not fit well with the rest of the department's IT architecture. The result was that the system could not cope with the workflows involved in dealing with high volumes of PQs and storing large amounts of data. Remedial work was undertaken in 2011 to try and improve its performance, but it became unusable in June 2012 following the additional demands put on the department's entire IT network and infrastructure when the staff of four executive agencies came on board in April 2012.
	The department's Executive Management Committee has directed that the PQ handling system should be replaced. The requirements for a new system are currently being reviewed. We intend to use existing procurement frameworks to appoint an appropriate supplier once the proposal is approved.
	After the failure of the system and infrastructure, the then Permanent Secretary commissioned an internal audit review to establish the reasons and identify lessons learnt. Following the report from this review, in November 2011, the department put in place an action plan to improve processes, management and systems.

Government Departments: Records

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government who has legal ownership of the contents of historic disability living allowance claimants' files; and whether they will be destroyed in their entirety, destroyed after personal material is returned to claimants, retained in archives or maintained as continuing evidence for claimants who are migrated to personal independence payments from disability living allowance.

Lord Freud: Disability living allowance (DLA) claimant files are owned by the DWP and stored in secure accommodation. Original documentation submitted in support of a claim, for example a birth certificate or passport, is copied and returned to the claimant and are not kept on file.
	Documents that support the current decision on DLA are kept until the decision is changed. To support the requirements of the Data Protection Act, any documents which no longer support the decision, or the entire file where entitlement to DLA has ceased, are destroyed 14 months after the decision date unless there are outstanding issues such as an ongoing prosecution or appeal.
	Once someone has been invited to claim personal independence payment (PIP), and a decision on their entitlement to PIP has been made, their entitlement to DLA will end. The DLA file will then be destroyed 14 months later following the decision or once outstanding issues have been cleared.

Government: Major Projects

Baroness Morgan of Ely: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the proportion of major Government projects delivered on time and to budget.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: In March 2011 the Government set up the Major Projects Authority (MPA) with an enforceable mandate from the Prime Minister to oversee and direct the effective management of all large-scale projects that are funded and delivered by central government.
	The Government also launched the Major Projects Leadership Academy in February 2011 in partnership with Oxford's Said Business School to transform the implementation of government policy through world-class delivery of major projects.
	Further information about the MPA can be found on the Cabinet Office web site. at http.//www.cabinet office.gov.uk/content/major-projects-authority.

Growth and Infrastructure Bill [HL]

Lord Adonis: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the yearly cost of the implementation of clause 27 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill; and by what date the Office for Budget Responsibility's estimate of a £1 billion cost will be reached.

Lord Deighton: Details of the estimated annual costs of the capital gains tax exemption for shares acquired through the adoption of the new employee shareholder employment status are set out in the table below. This costing allows for some tax planning.
	
		
			 Exchequer impact (£m) 
			  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 
			 Exchequer impact 0 0 0 Neg. -20 -80 
		
	
	This information is available on HM Treasury's website in the Policy Costings document published at Autumn Statement 20121.
	The indicative long-term cost of around £1 billion is estimated to fall well beyond the end of the current forecast period.
	1 http://cdn.hm-treasury_gov.uk/as2012_policy_costings.pdf

House of Lords: Catering

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether he will publish the remit for the Panache review of catering services in the House of Lords.

Lord Sewel: In 2009, the House of Lords Administration released an invitation to tender for the provision of a review of the catering services in the House. The invitation to tender had the following criteria for the review:
	"The Millbank refurbishment project is an important watershed and provides an opportunity for the House of Lords Management Board and Refreshment Committee to evaluate the current service provided by the RD [Refreshment Department] and the future impact and options for the new Millbank catering provision. The purpose of this report is to assist the RD management, Refreshment Committee and the Management Board Sub-Group on RD Profitability to scrutinise and manage the costs of the RD and the possible impact of the Millbank House facility.
	The consultants will consider the views of the following stakeholders; Members of the House via the Refreshment Committee, Management Board and the Sub-Group, users of the RD facilities and RD staff.
	The review will explore the following areas:
	Current services
	the capacity and the actual and potential customer base for all existing outlets;
	the operational costs of each outlet;
	the constraints of staff costs, equipment, location and House sitting times;
	the contribution made by, and the challenges of banqueting/functions;
	customer perceptions of existing services and the requirement (by some) for changes;
	RD Costs and Staffing
	cost controls in procurement and staffing;
	evaluating the efficient use of staff;
	benchmarking against 'norms' in the hotel and catering industry;
	The Millbank Refurbishment and other projects
	the advantages and disadvantages of contracting out catering services in Millbank House;
	identifying the niche market for the services at Millbank House;
	the potential impacts of the M&E project and any review of Terrace facilities".
	The successful bidders for the review were Panache Consultancy, who produced its report in April 2010.
	In early 2011, Panache Consultancy was commissioned to undertake a follow-up light touch review of Members' catering outlets. The review was commissioned as there had been a change of use in the facilities due to a number of factors since the election of the coalition Government in May 2010, specifically:
	the introduction of 117 new Members;greater take-up of meals in all outlets;the nature of parliamentary business; the price increases of 5 January 2011;the introduction of the new electronic point of sale software; the House accommodation strategy;the ongoing construction phase and fit-out planning for Millbank House; andthe catering review being undertaken by the House of Commons Administration Committee.
	Panache Consultancy was asked to review its original recommendations in the light of these changes.

House of Lords: Catering

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what was the total number of meals served in the Barry Room in the last year or session for which statistics are available.

Lord Sewel: For the financial year April 2011-March 2012 the number of meals served was as follows:
	
		
			 Lunch 3,649 
			 Dinner 6,049 
			 Total 9,698

House of Lords: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what consideration has been given to the House authorities directly employing police and security staff to carry out policing and security duties at the Palace of Westminster; and whether this matter is to be given consideration by the appropriate authorities.

Lord Sewel: The contractual arrangements for police and security staff based on the parliamentary estate are currently being reviewed by the Office of the Parliamentary Security Director. The Management Boards of both Houses, the Joint Committee on Security, the House Committee and the House of Commons Commission are being kept informed as the review proceeds and will consider the results. This review includes the question of whether the House authorities should directly employ security staff. Police officers cannot be directly employed by the House authorities.

House of Lords: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether information on payroll costs for security and police staff under the contract for policing and security duties in the Palace of Westminster is made available to members of the Joint Committee on Security.

Lord Sewel: The Joint Committee on Security advises the Lord Speaker and Mr Speaker on the security of the parliamentary estate. While it takes a close interest in the costs of security, it has not asked to see specific information on payroll costs for security and police staff.

House of Lords: Savings Strategy and Financial Plan

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what has been the saving in the budget for members' insurance arising out of the House of Lords Financial Plan approved in 2010.

Lord Sewel: The expenditure for members' insurance since the financial plan was approved in 2010 has been as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £000s 
			 2009-10 53 
			 2010-11 16 
			 2011-12 15 
			 2012-13 15 
		
	
	This is a saving of £38,000 per year, or 72%.

House of Lords: Staff Training

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees under what heading in the House of Lords accounts the cost of equality training for House of Lords staff is indicated.

Lord Sewel: Equality training is classified as a training cost. In the notes to the House of Lords' Resource Accounts training costs are classified as "other expenditure".

Iraq: Chilcot Inquiry

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their current estimate of the date when the Chilcot inquiry will report; and what are the total costs of the inquiry so far.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The inquiry expects to be able to submit its report to the Prime Minister once the "Maxwellisation" process (the process by which individuals subject to criticism in the inquiry's report are informed of the inquiry's views and offered the opportunity to make representations to the inquiry) is complete. It expects to begin this process in summer 2013.
	In respect of costs, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given to him on 3 December 2012 by the noble Lord Strathclyde (Official Report, col. WA 106).

Marriage: Gay Marriage

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what dates in the last year the issue of gay marriage was considered in formally convened meetings of (1) the Cabinet, and (2) appropriate Cabinet Committees.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is practice not to disclose the agendas of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees.

National Insurance

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the top 20 countries whose nationals applied for national insurance (NI) numbers last year; what were the numbers involved in each case; what was the total overall; and how many NI numbers were issued to foreign nationals in each of the last ten years.

Lord Freud: The statistics we have on the number of NINo registrations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK are available at: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool.
	Guidance for users is available at: http://research. dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf.

Public Sector: Retirement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government in relation to which public sector retirement schemes they have made agreements to leave retirement rules unchanged for at least 25 years, ruling out any reduction in public sector pension accrual rates; and with which trade unions any such agreement was made.

Lord Deighton: The Government believe that no further changes to public service pension schemes should be required for at least 25 years, following implementation of the reforms currently being taken forward.
	The reforms have been developed following extensive discussions with members, trades unions and other member representatives. They are based on the recommendations of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission, which reported in March 2010.
	The Government's commitment that further reform should not be necessary for a generation is reflected in the Public Service Pensions Bill, which is currently before Parliament. Clause 20 of the Bill identifies core elements of the new schemes and ensures a high bar is set for future Governments to change these design features. A change to a scheme's accrual rate is one of the elements identified for protection.

Roads: "P" Plates

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposals to lower the speed limit and make "P" plates compulsory for new drivers.

Earl Attlee: Improving the safety and ability of young drivers is a key priority for the Government.
	As part of the ongoing work to reduce the risks of accidents involving young and newly qualified drivers, the department is considering several options to ensure that they are properly prepared and drive safely. The option to restrict the speed at which newly qualified drivers are allowed to drive is not being considered.
	A lower speed limit for new drivers would be very difficult to enforce.
	In the UK "P" plates can be displayed on a voluntary basis, but we do not have any plans to make this compulsory.

Roads: Congestion Charge

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what new efforts they are considering to ensure that foreign diplomatic missions pay the congestion charge for their vehicles in London.

Earl Attlee: Her Majesty's Government are considering, in conjunction with Transport for London (TfL), what further action they might take with respect to outstanding congestion charge payments.
	Two-thirds of all foreign missions pay the London congestion charge, but as diplomatic missions are immune from prosecution in UK courts, there is no legal course of action which Her Majesty's Government or local authorities can take in the UK to enforce payment of the congestion charge or parking fines.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, TfL and other local authorities continue to press non-paying diplomatic missions to pay clearly outstanding congestion charge and parking fines.

Roads: Fatalities

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many road traffic accident fatalities per 100 miles of road there have been in the United Kingdom in each calendar year since 1975.

Earl Attlee: The table below provides the number of road traffic accident fatalities and the fatality rate per 100 miles of public highway in the United Kingdom in each calendar year since 1975.
	
		
			 Number of road traffic accident fatalities and fatality rate per 100 miles of public highway, United Kingdom: 1975 to 2011 
			  Fatalities Road length (miles)1 Fatality rate per 100 miles of road 
			 1975 6,679 219,489 3.04 
			 1976 6,870 221,616 3.10 
			 1977 6,969 222,461 3.13 
			 1978 7,119 223,465 3.19 
			 1979 6,645 224,565 2.96 
			 1980 6,182 225,582 2.74 
			 1981 6,069 227,366 2.67 
			 1982 6,150 228,405 2.69 
			 1983 5,618 229,633 2.45 
			 1984 5,788 230,724 2.51 
			 1985 5,342 231,472 2.31 
			 1986 5,618 232,786 2.41 
			 1987 5,339 233,688 2.28 
			 1988 5,230 234,979 2.23 
			 1989 5,554 236,442 2.35 
			 1990 5,402 237,435 2.28 
			 1991 4,753 238,593 1.99 
			 1992 4,379 240,177 1.82 
			 1993 3,957 254,188 1.56 
			 1994 3,807 254,663 1.49 
			 1995 3,765 255,186 1.48 
			 1996 3,740 255,548 1.46 
			 1997 3,743 256,421 1.46 
			 1998 3,581 256,701 1.40 
			 1999 3,564 257,282 1.39 
			 2000 3,580 257,916 1.39 
			 2001 3,598 258,416 1.39 
			 2002 3,581 258,937 1.38 
			 2003 3,658 259,382 1.41 
			 2004 3,368 256,526 1.31 
			 2005 3,336 256,771 1.30 
			 2006 3,298 260,796 1.26 
			 2007 3,059 261,152 1.17 
			 2008 2,645 260,903 1.01 
			 2009 2,337 260,902 0.90 
			 2010 1,905 260,845 0.73 
			 2011 1,960 260,964 0.75 
		
	
	1 Excluding privately owned roads
	Fatality must have occurred within 30 days after the accident.
	Source: STATS19 / International Road Traffic and Accident Database

Social Fund Budgeting Loans

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the last financial year, how many childless single people received social fund budgeting loans of more than £348; how many childless couples received more than £464; how many lone parents, or couples with children, received more than £812; and in each case what proportion of budgeting loans paid to the specified group this represented.

Lord Freud: Table 1 shows, for the financial year 2011-12, the volumes of:
	single people without children who received budgeting loans of more than £348;couples without children who received budgeting loans of more than £464; andlone parents and couples with children who received budgeting loans of more than £812.
	Please note that the data source used to derive the information below records whether or not each recipient of a budgeting loan had a partner or a child at the end of the month the loan was awarded rather than on the date of the award. In some cases, a person's family circumstances, as recorded on our systems, may have changed between the date of the award and the end of the month. This can result in people being eligible for a higher award at the time of the decision than shown by the records used to derive this table.
	No recipients of budgeting loans awarded in 2011-12 received an award over £812.
	
		
			 Table 1: People receiving Budgeting Loans above certain values in the 2011-12 financial year, by family circumstance 
			  Number of people Percentage of Annual Budgeting Loan Expenditure 
			 Single people without children who received awards over £348 20 Less than 0.1% 
			 Couples without children who received awards over £464 60 Less than 0.1% 
			 Lone parents or people with children who received awards over £812 0 0% 
		
	
	Source:DWP Budgeting Loan Scan Data, December 2012
	Notes:
	1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all Parliamentary Questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data: for example, these amounts do not include expenditure on applications that were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.
	2. Budgeting Loan applications are made by and awarded to individual claimants. Couples in the above table have been identified as awards made to an individual who was recorded as having a partner on our systems.
	3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 20.

Taxation

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 3 October 2011 (WA 143-4), whether they will publish in the same form the top rate of direct tax on personal incomes in the United Kingdom for each year from 1975-76 to 2011-12.

Lord Deighton: An updated version of the table providing details of the top rate of direct tax on personal incomes in the United Kingdom for each year from 1975-76 to 2011-12, given in my reply of 3 October 2011 (WA 143-4), is provided below.
	
		
			  Single/Basic, non-aged personal allowance for a man with no children Taxable income above which the highest rate is charged Highest rate of income tax charged Financial Year average Retail Price Index (January 1987 = 100) Single/Basic, non-aged personal allowance for a man with no children at 2011-12 prices Taxable income above which the highest rate is charged at 2011-12 prices 
			 1975-76 675 20,000 98% 35.9 4,461 132,185 
			 1976-77 735 20,000 98% 41.4 4,214 114,668 
			 1977-78 945 21,000 98% 47.2 4,753 105,618 
			 1978-79 965 24,000 98% 51.1 4,481 111,443 
			 1979-80 1,165 25,000 75% 59.2 4,672 100,251 
			 1980-81 1,375 27,750 75% 68.8 4,740 95,671 
			 1981-82 1,375 27,750 75% 76.8 4,252 85,808 
			 1982-83 1,565 31,500 75% 82.2 4,519 90,965 
			 1983-84 1,785 36,000 75% 86.0 4,925 99,329 
			 1984-85 2,005 38,100 60% 90.4 5,266 100,066 
			 1985-86 2,205 40,200 60% 95.7 5,467 99,673 
			 1986-87 2,335 41,200 60% 98.8 5,611 98,997 
			 1987-88 2,425 41,200 60% 102.7 5,603 95,199 
			 1988-89 2,605 19,300 40% 108.9 5,679 42,073 
			 1989-90 2,785 20,700 40% 117.4 5,631 41,857 
			 1990-91 3,005 20,700 40% 128.7 5,540 38,161 
			 1991-92 3,295 23,700 40% 134.9 5,799 41,713 
			 1992-93 3,445 23,700 40% 139.1 5,878 40,436 
			 1993-94 3,445 23,700 40% 141.5 5,779 39,757 
			 1994-95 3,445 23,700 40% 145.4 5,625 38,700 
			 1995-96 3,525 24,300 40% 150.1 5,575 38,430 
			 1996-97 3,765 25,500 40% 153.7 5,813 39,370 
			 1997-98 4,045 26,100 40% 158.8 6,045 39,007 
			 1998-99 4,195 27,100 40% 163.8 6,080 39,277 
			 1999-00 4,335 28,000 40% 166.4 6,185 39,949 
			 2000-01 4,385 28,400 40% 171.3 6,075 39,345 
			 2001-02 4,535 29,400 40% 173.9 6,190 40,131 
			 2002-03 4,615 29,900 40% 177.5 6,170 39,977 
			 2003-04 4,615 30,500 40% 182.5 6,003 39,671 
			 2004-05 4,745 31,400 40% 188.2 5,986 39,610 
			 2005-06 4,895 32,400 40% 193.1 6,016 39,822 
			 2006-07 5,035 33,300 40% 200.3 5,966 39,455 
			 2007-08 5,225 34,600 40% 208.6 5,945 39,369 
			 2008-09 6,035 34,800 40% 214.8 6,669 38,455 
			 2009-10 6,475 37,400 40% 215.8 7,122 41,140 
			 2010-11 6,475 150,000 50% 226.5 6,786 157,197 
			 2011-12 7,475 150,000 50% 237.3 7,475 150,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A single personal allowance was replaced with a basic personal allowance in 1990-91.
	2. For 1975-76 to 1983-84, the highest rate charged includes investment income surcharge at 15%, but this total rate would apply only if the taxpayer's income included investment income greater than the threshold for the highest rate of surcharge, which varied between £2,000 in 1973-74 and £7,100 in 1983-84.
	3. From 2010-11 the highest rate of tax is at the additional rate of 50%. The higher rate of tax at 40% was due on taxable incomes exceeding £37,400 in 2010-11 and £35,000 in 2011-12.

Vehicles: Insurance

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for requiring evidence of insurance to be displayed in vehicles travelling on the public highway.

Earl Attlee: A system of requiring vehicles to display evidence that a vehicle is insured by means of a windscreen disc has been considered. However, UK law requires the driver to be insured, rather than the vehicle; a disc would not guarantee that the person behind the wheel was insured to drive.
	The continuous insurance enforcement (CIE) scheme, introduced in 2011, compares the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's database of vehicles and the motor insurance database (MID), which holds all motor insurance policies. Detection through the CIE scheme is automatic and does not rely on displaying a disc in the vehicle.

Waste Management: Nappies

Baroness Eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce disposable nappy waste, in the light of the estimated cost to local authorities of £77 million in 2011.

Lord De Mauley: While Defra does not take a specific policy position on nappy waste, landfill should be the last resort for most waste. Landfill tax remains a key driver for diverting waste from landfill.
	We are committed to developing a waste prevention programme for England, to be published by the end of this year. The programme will set out a strategic direction and level of ambition for waste prevention. It will outline actions to be undertaken by a variety of organisations to increase the amount of items reused and reduce the quantity of waste produced. In developing it, we will consider which product categories and waste streams represent key areas for action to help reduce waste generated.